Крон-Хайтс: История и трансформация района Бруклина

the hamlet in Dutchess County

Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New York Avenue to the south. It is about 1 mile (2 km) wide and 2 mile (3 km) long. Neighborhoods bordering Crown Heights include Prospect Heights to the west, Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens to the south, Brownsville to the east, and Bedford–Stuyvesant to the north. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending 2 mile (3 km) east–west. Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill. It was a succession of hills running east and west from Utica Avenue to Washington Avenue, and south to Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue. The name was changed when Crown Street was cut through in 1916. The northern half of Crown Heights is part of Brooklyn Community District 8 and is patrolled by the 77th Precinct of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). purchased about around Wallabout Bay and over the following two years, director Kieft of the Dutch West India Company purchased title to nearly all the land in what is now Kings County and Queens County from the indigenous inhabitants. Finally, the areas around present day Crown Heights saw its first European settlements starting in about 1661/1662 when several men each received, from Governor Peter Stuyvesant and the directors of the Dutch West India Company what was described as "a parcel of free (unoccupied) woodland there" on the condition that they situate their houses "within one of the other concentration, which would suit them best, but not to make a hamlet."

In the 19th century, the area was rural. The Crow Hill penitentiary and various orphanages were located in the area at the time. In 1884, Alexander Jefferson was killed during a prolonged hanging after being convicted of the Crow Hill Murders. Appeals seeking to overturn his death sentence documented the significant poverty in the area at the time. Beginning in the early 1900s, many upper class residences, including characteristic brownstone buildings, were erected along Eastern Parkway. Away from the parkway were a mixture of lower middle class residences. This development peaked in the 1920s. Before World War II Crown Heights was among New York City's premier neighborhoods, with tree lined streets, an array of cultural institutions and parks, and numerous fraternal, social and community organizations. From the early 1920s through the 1960s, Crown Heights was an overwhelmingly white neighborhood and predominantly Jewish reflecting the demographics of the city, at the time. and in the 1960s the neighborhood experienced mass white flight. The demographic change was astounding; in 1960 the neighborhood was 70% white, and by 1970 it was 70% Black. The one exception to this pattern were Lubavitch Hasidic Jews. There were thirty four large synagogues in the neighborhood, including the Bobov, Chovevei Torah, and 770 Eastern Parkway, home of the worldwide Lubavitch movement. There were also three prominent Yeshiva elementary schools in the neighborhood, Crown Heights Yeshiva on Crown Street, the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway, and the Reines Talmud Torah.

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of turbulent race relations in the area: With increasing poverty in the city, racial conflict plagued some of its neighborhoods, including Crown Heights, with its racially and culturally mixed populations. At the request of their leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the neighborhood's mostly white and relatively large population of Lubavitch Hasidim stayed in the community as other whites were leaving. In 1964 the Labor Day Carnival celebrating Caribbean culture was moved to the neighborhood when its license to run in Harlem was revoked. It now attracts between one and three million people and is held on the first Monday in September. During the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, Crown Heights was declared a primary poverty area due to a high unemployment rate, high juvenile and adult crime rate, poor nutrition due to lack of family income, relative absence of job skills and readiness, and a relatively high concentration of elderly residents. Violence broke out several times in the neighborhood during the late 20th century, including during the New York City blackout of 1977: More than 75 area stores were robbed, and thieves used cars to pull up roll down curtains in front of stores. In 1991, there was a three day outbreak known as the Crown Heights Riot, which started between the neighborhood's West Indian/African American and Jewish communities. The riots began on August 19, 1991, after Gavin Cato, the son of two Guyanese immigrants, was struck and killed by a car in the motorcade of prominent Hasidic rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. A mob began to attack a Jewish volunteer ambulance, which withdrew. Rumors, which later proved to be unfounded, circulated that the ambulance refused to treat Gavin Cato's injuries while removing members of Schneerson's motorcade instead. Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting rabbinical student from Australia, was killed in the riot, while Jews were assaulted, and there was property damage amid rock throwing in the ensuing riots. The riot unveiled long simmering tensions between the neighborhood's Black and Jewish communities, which impacted the 1993 mayoral race and ultimately led to a successful outreach program between Black and Jewish leaders that somewhat helped improve race relations in the city. Through the 1990s, crime, racial conflict, and violence decreased in the city and urban renewal and gentrification began to take effect including in Crown Heights.

In the 2010s, Crown Heights experienced rapid gentrification. In some areas the increasing rents have caused the displacement of long time residents. Not only did rents for each apartment increase drastically but building management firms such as BCB Realty, affiliated with companies that buy up buildings in the neighborhood, aimed to remove long term residents by buying them out or pressuring them to move by "failing to adequately maintain apartments", according to a housing activist, with the aim of forcing out the rent stabilized. Other tactics include relocating residents from their apartments claiming renovation and locking them out, as employed by another realtor in the neighborhood, ZT Realty. In 2017, real estate developer Isaac Hager faced opposition from activists when he proposed building a 565 unit apartment complex in Crown Heights; in April 2019, a judge issued a restraining order against the project. In the wake of the 2010 opening of Basil Pizza & Wine Bar, a series of upscale, kosher, foodie restaurants opened in Crown Heights, which The Jewish Week described as "an eating destination." In November 2013, a series of attacks on Jewish residents were suspected to be part of "knockout games". Media attention to knockout attacks increased following the incidents in Crown Heights. In response to the violence, the Jewish community hosted an event for African American teens, designed to promote greater understanding of Jews and their beliefs. The event, hosted by the Jewish Children's Museum, was coordinated by local Jewish organizations, public schools, and by the NYPD's 71st and 77th precincts. On January 8, 2024, clashes broke out at the World Headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement at 770 Eastern Parkway, after a group tried to stop workers who were trying to infill an illegal tunnel excavated by students; the incident resulted in nine arrests.

Crown Heights is divided into two neighborhood tabulation areas, Crown Heights North and Crown Heights South, which collectively comprise the population of Crown Heights. Crown Heights has a majority West Indian and African American population according to the 2010 census. Reflecting the most varied U. S. population of Caribbean immigrants outside the West Indies, Crown Heights is known for its annual West Indian Carnival. The vivid ostentation goes along Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. According to the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, over 3.5 million people participate in the parade each year. Crown Heights also contains a significant number of Hasidic Jews. It is the location of the Worldwide Headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish movement, at 770 Eastern Parkway. An Orthodox Jewish community which established itself in Crown Heights in the 1940s has continued to thrive around that location.

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Crown Heights North was 103,169, a change of 293 ( 0.3%) from the 103,462 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 49% African American, 31% White, 3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14% of the population. The entirety of Community District 8, which covers Crown Heights North, had 97,130 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.2 years. This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle aged adults and youth: 20% are between the ages of 0–17, 37% between 25 and 44, and 22% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 12% respectively. In 2018, an estimated 21% of Crown Heights North residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 50% in Crown Heights North, lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Crown Heights North is considered to be gentrifying.

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Crown Heights South was 39,670, a change of 2,700 ( 6.8%) from the 42,370 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of This is equal to the median life expectancy of all New York City neighborhoods. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Crown Heights South residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in nine residents (11%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Crown Heights South, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Crown Heights South is considered to be gentrifying. It is also part of the 19th and 20th State Senate districts, represented by Democrats Roxanne Persaud and Zellnor Myrie, and the 43rd and 57th State Assembly districts, represented respectively by Democrats Diana Richardson and Phara Souffrant Forrest. Crown Heights is located in New York's 35th and 36th City Council districts, represented respectively by Democrats Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé. Crown Heights is served by Brooklyn Community Board 8 north of Eastern Parkway and Brooklyn Community Board 9 south of Eastern Parkway.

Crown Heights is patrolled by two precincts of the NYPD. Crown Heights North is covered by the 77th Precinct, located at 127 Utica Avenue, while Crown Heights South is patrolled by the 71st Precinct, located at 421 Empire Boulevard. The 77th Precinct ranked 42nd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per capita crime in 2010, while the 71st Precinct ranked 46th safest. as of 2018, with a non fatal assault rate of 85 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights North and 73 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights South, both areas' rates of violent crimes per capita are greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rates of 872 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights North and 598 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights South are both greater than that of the city as a whole. The 71st Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 8 murders, 26 rapes, 166 robberies, 349 felony assaults, 143 burglaries, 464 grand larcenies, and 68 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

as of 2018, preterm births in Crown Heights and births to teenage mothers in Crown Heights North are more common than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers in Crown Heights South are less common than in other places citywide. There were 92 preterm births per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights North and 91 preterm births per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights South (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide). Additionally, there were 24.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights North and 14.8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights South (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 12% in Crown Heights North and 16% in Crown Heights South, compared to the citywide rate of 12%. The United States Postal Service operates two post offices nearby: the Saint Johns Place Station at 1234 St Johns Place, and the James E Davis Station at 315 Empire Boulevard.

Crown Heights generally has a similar ratio of college educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018. In Crown Heights North, 44% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, while 16% have less than a high school education and 40% are high school graduates or have some college education. In Crown Heights South, 35% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, while 16% have less than a high school education and 48% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher. In Crown Heights South, reading achievement rose from 31 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2011, and math achievement rose from 21 percent to 47 percent within the same time period. Crown Heights' rates of elementary school student absenteeism are higher than the rest of New York City. The proportions of elementary school students who missed twenty or more days per school year were 28% in Crown Heights North and 22% in Crown Heights South, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students. is also located in Crown Heights. Medgar Evers College is an institution of higher education in the neighborhood. The orthodox Jewish community is serviced by gender segregated schools. Among the girls schools are Beth Rivkah Academy, founded in 1941 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, as the oldest Chasidic school for girls; the school now hosts preschool through higher learning institutions. Newer schools include Bnos Menachem, Bais Chaya Mushka, Bnos Chomesh and Chabad Girls Academy. The boys are educated at Oholei Torah, Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch, Cheder Ohr Menachem, Gan Academy, Darchei Menachem and various other smaller schools.

Crown Heights is served by the New York City Subway's IRT Eastern Parkway Line, with stations at Franklin Avenue , Nostrand Avenue , Kingston Avenue , and Utica Avenue It is also served by the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line at President and Sterling Streets The subway's BMT Franklin Avenue Line, served by the contains stations at Botanic Garden and Park Place. The IND Fulton Street line runs on its namesake street, 2 blocks north of the border between Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant, stopping in the Crown Heights area from Clinton Washington Avenues to Ralph Avenue and Broadway Junction. Just east of the Utica Avenue station, on the border with Brownsville, there is a park called Lincoln Terrace (also known as Arthur S. Somers Park), which slopes gently down toward the southern Brooklyn coastline; the IRT New Lots Line transitions from a tunnel to an elevated structure within this park. Several bus lines serve the area, including the .